Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To defecate.
  • intransitive verb To defecate in (one's clothes or bed).
  • intransitive verb To tease or try to deceive.
  • noun Excrement.
  • noun The act or an instance of defecating.
  • noun Diarrhea. Used with the.
  • noun Something considered disgusting, of poor quality, foolish, or otherwise totally unacceptable.
  • noun A mean or contemptible person.
  • noun A narcotic or intoxicant, such as marijuana or heroin.
  • noun Things; items.
  • noun Foolish, deceitful, or boastful language.
  • noun Insolent talk or behavior.
  • noun Trouble or difficulty.
  • noun A small or worthless amount.
  • interjection Used to express surprise, anger, or extreme displeasure.
  • idiom (get (one's) shit together) To get organized; put one's affairs or possessions in order.
  • idiom (give a shit) To care the least bit.
  • idiom (no shit) Used to express disbelief.
  • idiom (no shit) Used to express contemptuous acknowledgment of the obvious.
  • idiom (shit bricks/a brick) To become extremely worried or frightened.
  • idiom (up shit creek (without a paddle)) In dire circumstances with no hope of help.
  • idiom (when the shit hits the fan) When the situation goes awry; when trouble starts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive, vulgar, colloquial To defecate.
  • verb transitive, vulgar, colloquial To excrete (something) through the anus.
  • verb transitive, vulgar, colloquial To fool or try to fool someone; to be deceitful.
  • verb transitive, vulgar, colloquial, Australia To annoy.
  • interjection vulgar Expression of worry, failure, shock, etc., often at something seen for the first time or remembered immediately before using this term.
  • interjection vulgar To show displeasure or surprise.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial Solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels; feces.
  • noun countable, vulgar, colloquial, plural, definite (the shits) diarrhea.
  • noun countable, vulgar An instance of defecation.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial Rubbish; worthless matter.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial Stuff, things.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial, definite (the shit) The best of its kind.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial Nonsense; bullshit.
  • noun countable, vulgar, colloquial A nasty, despicable person, used particularly of men.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial (in negations) Anything.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial A problem or difficult situation.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial A strong rebuke.
  • noun uncountable, vulgar, colloquial any recreational drug, usually cannabis.
  • adjective vulgar, colloquial Of poor quality; worthless.
  • adjective vulgar, colloquial Nasty; despicable.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun obscene words for unacceptable behavior
  • verb have a bowel movement
  • verb give away information about somebody
  • noun obscene terms for feces
  • noun insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous
  • noun something of little value

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English shitten, probably from Old English -sciten (as in besciten, covered with excrement), past participle of *scītan, to defecate; see skei- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English shiten, from Old English scītan, from Proto-Germanic *skītanan (compare West Frisian skite, Dutch schijten, German scheißen), from Proto-Indo-European *skeh₁i-d (“to cut”). More at shed.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English scite ("dung"), scitte ("diarrhoea"), from Proto-Germanic *skīta-, *skītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sḱeyd-, *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”). Related to Middle Saxon (Middle Low Saxon) schite, New Saxon (New Low Saxon) Schiet, Middle Dutch schitte, Dutch schijt, German Scheiße, Swedish skit, Norwegian skitt, Icelandic skítur. Compare shite.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word shit.

Examples

  • Hell it was shit 10 years ago and it is shit+ extra stink now.

    doggdot.us 2009

  • Hell it was shit 10 years ago and it is shit+ extra stink now.

    doggdot.us 2009

  • You've taken the term shit-faced to a whole new level!

    The Gods Must Be Dadaists 2006

  • So, up to this point we tried to fix it by using what I call shit-against-the-wall pharmacology, which means, well, let's just throw chemicals at it, and maybe it's going to make it work.

    Barry Schuler: Genomics 101 Barry Schuler 2008

  • So, up to this point we tried to fix it by using what I call shit-against-the-wall pharmacology, which means, well, let's just throw chemicals at it, and maybe it's going to make it work.

    Barry Schuler: Genomics 101 Barry Schuler 2008

  • So, up to this point we tried to fix it by using what I call shit-against-the-wall pharmacology, which means, well, let's just throw chemicals at it, and maybe it's going to make it work.

    Barry Schuler: Genomics 101 Barry Schuler 2008

  • Motherhood rocks and stepping in shit is just one of the many benefits.

    It’s My Motherhood, And I’ll Celebrate It If I Want To | Her Bad Mother 2009

  • Rapp heard the word shit followed by a heavy sigh.

    American Assassin Vince Flynn 2010

  • Upon hearing Jehovahs name made audible, the evil azure demon jumped right out of the boys lap and ran down the aisle of the Kingdom Hall screaming the word shit repeatedly until he reached the heavy doors of the main exit.

    I'm Perfect, You're Doomed Kyria Abrahams 2009

  • But the word shit is okay for the man at work—he can say it like crazy:

    Last Words George Carlin 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Acronym for the South Hanoi Institute of Technology.

    December 31, 2006

  • ...learnt by heart in bits

    to keep us sane whilst dealing with the shits

    daily we've the misfortune to confront

    (at work there's one particular such cunt,

    Company Secretary, tick of ticks...

    - Peter Reading, 65th, from Tom O' Bedlam's Beauties, 1981

    June 29, 2008

  • How about: Shit! Yeah, that's right, shit!

    You can smoke shit, buy shit, sell shit, lose shit, find shit, forget shit, and tell others to eat shit.

    Some people know their shit, while others can't tell the difference between shit and Shinola.

    There are lucky shits, dumb shits, and crazy shits. There is bull shit, horse shit, and chicken shit.

    You can throw shit, sling shit, catch shit, shoot the shit, or duck when the shit hits the fan.

    You can give a shit or serve it on a shingle.

    You can find yourself in deep shit or be happier than a pig in shit.

    Some days are colder than shit, some days are hotter than shit, and some days are just plain shitty.

    Some music sounds like shit, things can look like shit, and there are times when you feel like shit.

    You can have too much shit, not enough shit, the right shit, the wrong shit or a lot of weird shit.

    You can carry shit, face a mountain of shit, or find yourself up shit creek without a paddle.

    Sometimes everything you touch turns to shit and other times you fall in a bucket of shit and come out smelling like a rose.

    When you stop to consider all the facts, it's the basic building block of the English language. And remember, once you know your shit, you don't need to know anything else!!

    Well, shit! that's enough for now. Have a nice day, without a bunch of shit. But, if you happen to catch a load of shit from some shit-head.....well,

    Shit Happens!!!

    --from some wag, somewhere.

    October 19, 2008

  • Yr Shit Stinks

    October 21, 2008

  • Reposted for posterity from a deleted user profile:

    qms commented on the user jrp82746

    The city has gained great fame for it.

    As steel is made in PA's Pitt,

    Detroit's famed for cars,

    LA for it's stars,

    So Fort Wayne's renowned for its shit.

    November 21, 2014

  • May I add that the punctuation error in the fourth line is not mine ;-)

    November 21, 2014

  • Surely the reverse dictionary entry for shit should be food.

    November 21, 2014

  • There are sufficient imponderables here to keep a band of academic philosophers dining out for a week. The offending user page has fallen to the mighty sword of erinmckean but she has permitted it’s bastards to live on since they should not be blamed for the circumstances of their generation. I was able to access the original posting on my user page and make the correction to “its” there. In the meantime bilby has reposted the limerick on the entry page for shit so the error lives on there. That is now bilby’s comment and editable only by him or by herself. I could ask bilby to correct the shit comment but then his subsequent disavowal of responsibility would become mysterious or, what’s worse, give the appearance that bilby has made a mistake. To ask him to both correct one comment and to delete another seems a bit much.

    But bilby has in fact made an error! He assumed that the liquidation of jrp82746 meant that my comment thereon (and his) would be lost. He has underestimated the magnanimity of erinmckean, so now the two versions of the limerick live on, abutting but forever disconnected.

    In the unimaginably distant future some curious race of people on the far side of the galaxy may intercept Wordnik as it drifts by and its Wise Ones will gaze at each other in wild surmise. Why does this oddly shaped block of text exist in two not-quite-identical forms, they will ask. Where is Fort Wayne and what is this shit?

    It is a shame that Fort Wayne must be forever thus remembered. I visited it once years ago and it seemed like a perfectly nice place. Except for all the dog shit.

    November 21, 2014

  • Not-quite-identical happens!

    November 24, 2014